Shower ring



April 1934- M. H. HOLLINGSWORTH 1,954,412

SHOWER RING Filed June 27, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet l Inuenior By f1 llorney April 10, 1934. M. H. HOLLINGSWORTH SHOWER RING Filed June 27, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 coo 000 e00 000 000 0 0 e00 000 O0 O00 O00 O00 O00 000 O0 O00 O06 uOOO 00o uOOo O00 uOOO 000 0000 uOOO 00 uO O00 U000 OOO V000 000 HHHH HFIP 5 Inventor A7? /0/72 ir s war/j flllomey HHHHF-lHl-A Patented Apr. 10, 1934 SHOWER RING Maurice H. Hollingsworth, Miami Beach, Fla.

Application June 2'7, 1933, Serial No. 677,938

3 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved bathtub shower such as may be conveniently referred to as a spray or shower ring.

As is customary in faucet types of shower attachments the invention embodies an appropriate flexible hose for connection to the faucet or spigot, together with a shower ring at the discharge end of the hose which ring is adapted to embrace a predetermined portion of the body of the wearer to provide a depending water screen confined to the vicinity of the body to obviate the use of a shower curtain and to overcome wetting the hair when and if not desired.

Needless to say, I am aware that it is not broadly new in this particular line of endeavor to provide a portable or shower attachment of this general variety. Therefore, in perfecting the principles of the present inventive conception, I have evolved and produced a novel, self-accommodating water jet distributing head or ring possessing certain structural features of refinement and improvement calculated to better fulfill the requirements of an innovation of this character.

The principal feature of novelty is predicated upon a split ring or collar made of sufficiently heavy rubber to render it self-adjusting, whereby to permit it to encircle the neck, to be placed around the body beneath the arms, around the waist, legs, or wherever desired, in order to provide a copious and satisfying shower which, because of its descending confined capacity is regarded as superior to the stationary overhead showers now generally installed.

Other features and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description and drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a shower attachment constructed in accordance with my ideas and illustrating the manner in which it may be satisfactorily used.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the split ring or collar.

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view observing the face or inside construction of said ring.

Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken approximately on the plane of the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figures 5 and 6 are transverse detail sections taken on the planes of the lines 5-5 and 6-6 respectively of Figure 2.

In the drawings, in Figure 1, the numeral '7 designates a conventional bathtub, 8 represents the faucet, and 9 the supply hose. The hose is provided at one end with a fitting or cup 10 for detachable connection with the faucet. At its opposite end it is provided with the improved circulating and distributing shower ring or collar 6U) 11. It is the latter feature which constitutes the improvement, and, as indicated, this is preferably constructed of rubber of a proper texture. In fact, the entire ring is formed from a single moided or cast body of rubber. It will be 010- it; served that the extremities or ends 12 and 13 are separated and normally swing into contracted coil relationship. As before implied, it is one of the principal ideas of the invention to make this ring 11 of resilient rubber of appropriate '70 strength so that it has a normal contracted position as shown in Figure l and so that it may be expanded radially to adapt it to any part of the body to which it is applied. This makes it unnecessary to slip the ring over the head as is the case in some devices now on the market. In other words, all that is necessary is to spread the ends 12 and 13 apart and then slip the ring in place. It also makes it possible to regulate the water to the proper temperature before apply- 8t) ing the ring. A principal feature of the ring is the semi-circular tubular water distributing chamber 14. As shown in Figure 6, this comprises an arcuate web 15 having a centralized row of perforations 16 through which the jets or streams of water issue and emanate into inwardly converging streams. Formed integral with this web is a substantially semi-circular pliable rubber wall 1'7. This chamber 14 extends from end to end of the ring and serves to distribute the water equally and uniformly. At its center this chamber is provided with a nipple 18 for at tachment of the hose 9. As shown in Figure 6, the nipple has a retaining flange 19 at its inner end, at which point it is screw-threaded to accommodate a clamping nut 20 and a packing washer 21 to provide a liquid tight connection. The pliability of the wall 17 is sufficient to allow the nipple 18 to properly angle with the hose to prevent rupture and breakage of the wall 17.

The numerals 22 and 23 in Figure 5 designate a pair of duplicate or companion solid rubber adapter flanges formed at their outer edges with inturned body contacting lips 24. The purpose of these flanges is primarily to give the necessary rigidity to the ring to render it yieldably self sustaining. The flanges 22 and 23, however, are not so stiff as to interfere with the comfort or to cause the device to bind too tightly against the body of the user. Notwithstanding this, the

degree of resiliency is such as to provide the desired inherent resilient characteristics to render the device self-conforming and normally contractible into the position or shape shown in Figure 2. As before stated, however, the ends 11 and 12 can be spread apart to expand the ring to the requisite diameter or shape to adapt it to any part of the body desired to be embraced thereby.

It will be observed that the inner faces of the flanges 22 and 23 are provided with rubber projections or fingers 25 which function primarily as massaging teats. These teats 25 also have the advantage of functioning as baffles in that they prevent needless spattering and splashing of water. Thus the flanges and teats function to confine and control the water streams to a limited degree. Then too, these flanges serve to permit the device to fit snugly and yet space the web 15 from the body to provide sufficient space between the body and the aperture 16 to prevent stoppage of the flow of water. It will be noticed that the entire chamber 14: is disposed outwardly of the position of the two flanges 22 and 33 so as to further utilize the spacing properties of said flanges. Then too, the web 15 is curved or bowed outwardly to maintain a space between itself and the body of the person as a further precautionary feature against interference with the free flow of the water.

The gist of the invention is found in the provision of a split, resilient shower ring characterized by lip and teat equipped flanges joined to a centrally located water circulating and dis tributing chamber, wherein said chamber is of general semi-circular cross sectional shape and wherein its web portion 15 is curved outwardly to insure a space between itself and the body of the user. The main idea, as before stated, is the coil formation of the ring with its split ends 12 and 13 adapted to permit the device to be expanded and spread open to allow it to be snapped around the waist, the chest, the neck, legs, or wherever its placement is desired.

With my invention, the streams of water will converge in the center as the spokes of a wheel leave the rim of the wheel and meet at the hub. The body of the user will occupy the space in the center. When the water pressure forces water out of the end-piece on one side, theoretically, the stream of water will be checked and stopped by meeting the stream of water coming from the opposite side and the streams of water coming from the other openings spaced around the inner face of the device. If the stream of water does not meet in the center and strike the opposite face it will be captured, stopped, and controlled by the concave face.

This has one all-important result that is really an all-important feature of the invention. The shower bath endpiece can be held in any position in its natural and unexpanded position and not a drop of water will escape and get out of the bath tub. A child or a careless adult can only get water out of the bath tub by holding the shower device over the floor and not over the bath tub or by swinging the shower device and forcing water on the walls or fioor by centrifugal action. When the endpiece is expanded, it is presumed that the streams of water will strike some portion of the body of the user and that fact will eliminate splashing.

It is thought-that persons skilled in the art to which the invention relates will be able to obtain a clear understanding of the invention after considering the description in connection with the drawings. Therefore, a more lengthy description is regarded as unnecessary.

Minor changes in shape, size, and rearrangement of details coming within the field of invention claimed may be restorted to in actual practice, if desired.

What is claimed is:

l. A shower ring comprising a split ring of resilient material and of substantially semi-circular shape in cross section with its concaved face innermost, the central portion of said concaved face having a longitudinally extending groove therein, a circumferentially extending tubular member connected to the central portion of the outer face of the ring, said ring having perforations therein communicating the tubular member with the groove, and means for introducing liquid into the tubular member.

2. A shower ring comprising a split ring of resilient material and of substantially semi-circular shape in cross section with its concave face innermost, flanges extending inwardly from the side edges of the ring, a tubular member connected with the central portion of the convexed face of the ring and extending circumferentially from one end of the ring to the other end thereof, said ring having perforations therein leading from the tubular member to the concaved face of the ring, and means for introducing liquid into the tubular member.

3. A shower ring comprising a split ring of resilient material and of substantially semi-circular shape in cross section with its concave face innermost, inwardly extending flanges formed with the side edges of said ring, the central portion of the concaved face of the ring having a circumferentially extending groove th rein, projections formed on the inner face of the ring and carried by those portions between the groove and the flanges, a substantially semi-circular tubular part formed on the central portion of the outer face of the ring, said ring having perforations therein connecting the tubular part with the groove, and means for introducing liquid into the tubular part.

MAURICE H. I-IOLLINGSWNORTH. 

